Creamer grabs five stoke lead
2007-11-10 16:18
Mobile, Alabama - Paula Creamer grabbed a five-stroke lead halfway through the one million-dollar LPGA Tournament of Champions, firing a bogey-free seven-under par 65 on Friday to seize command.
The 21-year-old US standout birdied her final seven holes on Thursday, then picked up where she left off by starting round two with a birdie. Creamer added birdies at six and eight and began the back nine with a birdie as well.
Birdies at 15, 16 and a 35-footer for birdie at the 18th left Creamer on 12-under par 132 after 36 holes, five ahead of second-place Jin Joo Hong of South Korea.
"I felt very confident," Creamer said. "I was hitting the ball really well and putted good too. There's still a lot of golf left, but at the same time I like where I am at, obviously. I'll take it."
Creamer, who has not won since the season opener in Hawaii, could not have ended the day any happier after finishing with a long birdie putt to stretch her lead.
Nice to end on a birdie
"When I first putted it I thought it was going to be two feet short, but it just kept on going and going and it went in," Creamer said. "It's always nice to end on a birdie. It makes dinner taste that much better."
US veteran Meg Mallon, who shared the lead with Creamer when the day began, struggled to an 82 and fell to a share of 29th.
Creamer, who shared second here last year, seeks her fourth career LPGA title.
Rookie Hong, 24, opened with three birdies on a day when she made eight but three bogeys kept her from pressuring Creamer for the top spot as she seeks her first LPGA triumph.
"The first hole, the ball went right near the pin. On two, it was a long putt and I made it. On the third I had confidence and was really in the flow to make three straight," Hong said.
"I'm not thinking about winning this tournament yet. If it was tomorrow, I would think about it. I'm just thinking about Saturday and with my confidence I can improve."
Three of Creamer's closest pursuers - Hong, Sweden's Annika Sorenstam and Britain's Karen Stupples - each fired 67s to stay in the hunt.
Sorenstam, seeking her first title of 2007 and the 70th of her Hall of Fame career, was third on 138. She birdied five of the first seven holes on the back nine but a bogey at 17 dropped her level with American Pat Hurst.
"I'm very pleased. I played well," Sorenstam said. "I had a lot of chances and hit some other good shots that were close, too. I almost tapped in for several other birdies. It's a little easier when you know the golf course."
Touched a twig
Stupples was sixth on 139, one atop Norway's Suzann Pettersen and three strokes ahead of American Wendy Ward, Korean Birdie Kim and Sweden's Carin Koch.
Pettersen, 26, has won three of her prior four starts but was hit with two penalty strokes on the par-5 13th after inadvertently moving the ball when she touched a twig in the rough and then failing to replace the ball.
Hurst, paired with Pettersen, saw the error on video but said there was no way Pettersen could have known.
"It definitely moved, but from her angle there is no way you can see it. It moved on camera," Hurst said.
"There were probably 10 guys standing near her shot. Usually if someone sees something you can hear a little buzz, but there was nothing.
"Everyone was like, 'Yes' she didn't move it. She had a rules official right there with her and she's not that type of player who would see it and not call it."
World number one Lorena Ochoa of Mexico, American Natalie Gulbis and Koreans Se Ri Pak and Seon Hwa Lee were on 143.
"I'm always positive and I'm always thinking of winning," Ochoa said. "I'm not going to give up. I know I'm behind, but you never know."
The event features 35 winners of LPGA events from 2004 through this season and is the year's penultimate event, the final qualifier for next week's Tour Championship.
- SAPA